Google Maps Adds Food Ordering, Transit Updates with Ask Maps

Google has expanded its Gemini-powered 'Ask Maps' assistant in Google Maps to perform various tasks, including ordering food and tracking transit delays. With this feature, users can simply say a command like 'order spicy pad kee mao with seafood for me to pick up on my way home,' and Maps will find open restaurants along their route, let them pick one, and add the dish to their cart.

The new capabilities also include looking up information about hotels and events while traveling, comparing prices in real-time, and checking availability. Google's live updates are coming to transit, with a transit widget offering up-to-the-minute information on delays for bus, train, subway, and ferry rides.

A Personal Intelligence option allows the feature to connect to Gmail to factor in upcoming plans without needing specific instruction. Additionally, there is a conversational edits option for suggesting new details for Ask Maps, which can also remember prior conversations for context if history settings are turned on.